Share This Event

Ladies and Gentlemen, Meet Joe Satriani. On What Happens Next, the legendary guitarist reveals a new persona: himself. As fans know, Satriani hinted at the demise of his alter ego in 2015s Shockwave Supernova album after that character threatened to battle Satriani for his very soul. As Satriani hit the road in support of the album, he discovered Shockwave Supernova, the latest in a long line of alien personas Satriani had created, was truly suffocating him—a process captured in a new documentary directed by Satriani’s son ZZ, which will debut at the Mill Valley Film Festival. “As I was doing the last few legs of the tour, I started to think ‘Wow, maybe this is real life.’ I am feeling like I should just drop this guy and figure out a way to do something very different. What happened next was nothing short of a metamorphosis. It was an internal artistic rebirth,” Satriani says. “I’m thinking, No science fiction, no time travel, no songs about distant planets or aliens or anything like that.” Instead, Satriani looked inward, writing songs, he says, about a human being, two feet on the ground, heart pumping, with emotions, dreams, and hopes. That seemed to be the direction I really was yearning for. The stunning result is What Happens Next, the most accessible, straight-forward rock album that Satriani has ever made. The set pulses with a vibrant energy from the dynamic opening track Energy to the stomp of Catbot, majestic crunch of Thunder High On The Mountain, spiritual grace of Righteous and sensuality of Smooth Soul. There’s a vulnerability to shedding the protective veneer that personas such as Shockwave Supernova provided. It’s a frightening feeling to walk out on that artistic limb where you’re not relying on any kind of formula, Satriani says. You’re brave enough to simply write about bare feelings. When I step back and look at all the new songs, I realize they represent a person living and breathing in the world today. If Satriani was going todrop everything and go into something brand new, he needed to surround himself with co-conspirators whom he knew could fulfill his vision, so he turned to Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith—also his bandmate in Chickenfoot, Deep Purple bassist and longtime friend Glenn Hughes, and producer Mike Fraser. Utilizing a trio instead of a full band, Satriani hoped to replicate the energy he found working with Chickenfoot on their first album. It was basically three musicians and Sammy[Hagar] screaming on top of us, and there was none of that waiting to see what the other guy plays so much as we were just all going at the same time, he says. We were just attacking it with so much fun and energy. Its a unique quality that makes the listener feel like there was something bigger than the sum of their parts and I wanted to make sure that we captured that.

Satriani, reached out to Smith, relaying, I’ve got this crazy idea—rock n roll record, fresh, immediate, lively. You, Glenn Hughes on bass and me, Satriani recalls. I was expecting him to tell me to go take a walk, but he signed on immediately. So did Hughes. After sending Smith and Hughes the songs, Satriani laid down a few ground rules, which boiled down to Keep It Simple. I said to Chad in an early text, No odd time signatures, no progressive stuff, pure rock and soul. The last two records really showed that I was enjoying playing with progressive elements, and when I reached the end of Shockwave Supernova, I said, I think I’ve done it. For some reason, I don’t feel like going back over that anymore. Once in the studio—they recorded in San Francisco and Los Angeles— Satriani wanted space for the threesome to nimbly shift as they found their groove. I said, “If you got an idea, just start doing it, and well react as a trio, and that was the idea—to record us reacting off of each other, and try to create that magic sound that a three-piece can make.” His advice to Fraser was equally direct. His job was to not let any of us work this to death. That way, Chad, Glenn and I could just go out and be musicians, which means being like teenage kids making lots of noise. Then you have the father figure in the control room making sure he captures it all. Growing upon Long Island, N.Y., Satriani turned to the guitar only after first attempting to play drums and piano and failing miserably. I spent hours sitting right next to my mother as she played piano, and I marveled at her ability to play rhythm and melody independently and be able to read sheet music. Its just something I never had, he says. But then, the guitar came along. “I was like, ‘Oh, look at this. I actually can progress,” he remembers. “In two days, I’ve learned these chords, and its not as awkward as the piano, and certainly not as awkward as the drums.” I started on the guitar because I was such a Hendrix fan, but I got to day two because I noticed that it was the instrument that presented the least amount of resistance. Although I constantly feel like I’m not really cut out to be a guitar player and certainly not a performer in the music industry, here I am. Once it got in my hands, I said, I’m never letting goof this guitar because this is my ticket to expression, you know? What a ticket its been. Satriani has earned six gold and platinum discs over his 30-year career, selling more than 10 million albums and garnering 15 Grammy nominations. And he’s far from finished. With What Happens Next, Satriani asks his fans to join him in a new chapter. I think the ultimate goal of human experience is for us to become closer, he says. Its fun to write about science fiction and things like that, but its a little bit more difficult to get closer to people by writing about something that’s so abstract. So I focused on rock and soul as a way to recognize our shared experiences, our wishes, our dreams, our hopes and fears. This record is an invitation to get closer. That’s really what it is.

John Petrucci is best known as the guitarist, producer, lyricist and founding member of the two-time Grammy nominated progressive metal band Dream Theater as well as the guitarist and founding member of the acclaimed Liquid Tension Experiment. As a solo artist, John is a long standing veteran of Joe Satriani’s G3 tours along with Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Paul Gilbert, Steve Morse and Steve Lukather.

Born John Peter Petrucci on July 12, 1967, he grew up in Kings Park, New York, a small suburban town on Long Island where he began playing guitar at age 12. His early influences included Steve Morse, Al DiMeola, Steve Howe, Allan Holdsworth, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Randy Rhoads, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Alex Lifeson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Rush, Yes, Iron Maiden, The Dregs and Metallica. At age 18 after graduating from high school, he attended the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston along with schoolmate/bassist John Myung where they fatefully met drummer Mike Portnoy and quickly formed the nucleus of what was to become Dream Theater.

For the last 30+ years John has taken his band on an extremely successful and rewarding musical journey. With upwards of 12 million in gold and platinum CD and DVD sales including the 1992 RIAA certified Gold release Images And Words, Dream Theater continue to be the premier leaders in progressive metal music on an acclaimed, international level. Throughout their career, the band has garnered multiple Billboard 200 Top 10 chart debuts, received 2 Grammy nominations for Best Metal Performance and have earned numerous accolades including their 1999 concept album Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory landing the #1 position in RollingStone.com’s reader’s poll for Your Favorite Prog Rock Albums Of All Time and winning Band Of The Year in the 2014 Progressive Music Awards. Most recently, their ambitious 2016 double CD rock opera The Astonishing debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart. Since 1992, Dream Theater has performed in front of millions of devoted fans throughout a multitude of expansive world tours in support of the band’s 13 studio albums to date.

As a guitar player, John has received many notable awards in the various guitar publications throughout the world, including the 2007 Guitarist of the Year as named by the readers of Total Guitar magazine and Best Metal Guitarist in the 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards poll in Guitar Player magazine. John was named Best Metal Guitaristagain in the 2011 Guitar Player’s Reader’s Choice Awards poll and one of the 20 Greatest Metal Guitarists Ever in a 2011 poll for Total Guitar as well as being voted Best Guitarist in Classic Rock Presents Prog Magazine’s 2011 readers poll. In 2013 John was voted Best Shredder in Guitar World’s Reader’s Poll and in 2014 John secured his place in the magazine’s Hall Of Fame.

John met his wife Rena Sands in 1989 and the two would later marry in September 1993. Rena was the guitarist and founding member of the all-female metal band Meanstreak. Rena continues her career as guitarist with the all-female tribute to Judas Priest appropriately named Judas Priestess who can be seen playing regularly throughout N. America.

In 1995 John released his first instructional video called Rock Discipline and was also a contributing columnist in Guitar World magazine’s Wild Stringdom monthly lesson series. A book by the same name would later be released as a collection of the lessons featured in the magazine.

In 1998 and 1999 John released Liquid Tension Experiment and Liquid Tension Experiment 2 respectively, along with Jordan Rudess on keyboards, Mike Portnoy on drums and the inimitable Tony Levin on bass. Both albums would not only prove to be worthy and enjoyable side projects, but also favorites among fans worldwide.

The year 2000 brought with it the unveiling of John’s record label, Sound Mind Music. Created and run by his wife Rena, it’s first release was An Evening With John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess, an acoustic-instrumental live concert of Latin/jazz improvised music for guitar and piano. The concert was recorded in June of that year at the Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center in Nyack, NY. The album was re-released in 2004 on Steve Vai’s Favored Nations record label and featured two additional tracks: The Rena Song and The Bite Of The Mosquito.

In 2001 John joined the North American run of the popular G3 tour with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. He performed as a trio with ex-DT band mate Mike Portnoy on drums and bassist Dave LaRue of Dregs/Steve Morse Band fame. John would subsequently continue on with legs in Mexico and Japan with Joe and Steve (G3 Live in Tokyo was released in 2005) South America with Joe and Eric Johnson, Australia with Joe and Steve, in North America in 2007 with Joe and Paul Gilbert and in South America in 2012 (DT bandmate Mike Mangini on drums) with Joe, Steve Morse and Steve Lukather.

In 2005 John released his first and much anticipated solo album titled, Suspended Animation on his Sound Mind Music label. The self-produced album of all instrumental guitar music featured Dave LaRue on bass and Dave DiCenso on drums. Drummer and re-mixer Tony Verderosa also contributed to the CD and can be heard on the song Tunnel Vision. The album was mixed by friend and long time DT producer/mix engineer Kevin Shirley. Many of the songs John originally debuted live while on tour with G3 would later make up the bulk of the CD.

Throughout his career, John has spearheaded the research and development of numerous signature guitars and guitar related gear with some of the most successful and respected musical instrument manufactures in the world. Among those include a complete line of signature Ernie Ball Music Man 6-string, 7-string and baritone guitars featuring the critically acclaimed JP Majesty and JP BFR, the first ever signature Mesa BoogieJP-2C guitar amplifier and TC Electronic signature JP Dreamscape chorus/flanger pedal, signature DiMarzio 6 and 7 string Crunch Lab, Liquifire, Illuminatorand Sonic Ecstasy pickups as well as signature DiMarzio JP guitar straps and the signature Dunlop JP95 wah pedal and JP Jazz III picks.

In 2015 John started ToneMission, a global initiative dedicated to tone-seekers around the world who’s goal is to foster greater communication and sharing amongst players and is committed to furthering the reach, development and proliferation of the art of the instrument throughout the worldwide guitar community.

Outside of music, John’s passions include bodybuilding, bearding, bbq, politics and all things Disney. He currently resides on Long Island, New York with his wife Rena and three children.

Philip Kenneth Collen was born in Hackney, East London, England and was influenced by everything from the Rolling Stones to the Motown sound to glam rock, hard rock, punk, or anything with flair. At the age of 14, Collen was taken by his cousin to his first rock concert - Deep Purple. The experience changed my life, said Phil. After months of begging, his parents finally relented and Collen got his first guitar at the age of 16.

Influenced by guitar players such as Ritchie Blackmore, Jimi Hendrix, and Mick Ronson, Collen soon developed his own unique, aggressive style of playing guitar. He quit his day job and went on tour as a guitarist with the London-based post-punk glam rock band Girl. Collen joined Def Leppard in 1982 during the Pyromania album recording sessions. Pyromania was Def Leppard’s breakthrough album and turned Def Leppard into rock super-stars almost overnight. They spent the summer of 1983 at #2 on the Billboard charts, behind Michael Jacksons Thriller. Pyromania sold in excess of 10 times platinum and received a Diamond award in the US and Canada.

The band's next album Hysteria became one of the best-selling rock albums of all time achieving 12 times platinum in the US and selling over 25 million albums worldwide. The collection spawned seven singles including the smash hits Pour Some Sugar On Me and Love Bites. The band received their second Diamond album putting them in an exclusive group of only six bands ever to achieve two Diamond albums in America. Def Leppard was now among rock-n-rolls elite which included The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, and Van Halen.

Collen also performs with his two other bands- Manraze, a modern day mix of punk, funk, rock, and reggae with bassist Simon Laffy formerly of the 70s glam band Girl and legendary Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook.

In 2014, Collen formed DELTA DEEP, a blues rock n soul quartet featuring vocalist Debbi Blackwell-Cook, Stone Temple Pilots bassist Robert DeLeo, and all-star drummer Forrest Robinson. Their 2015 self-titled release debuted on iTunes blues charts at #2. During the band's east coast tour they recorded their performance at Daryl's House which will be released as a live album in January 2018 complete with DVD performance footage. DELTA DEEP's 2nd studio album is slated for release late 2018.

2015 saw the Simon and Shuster release of 'Adrenalized' Collen's autobiography for which he successfully garnered critical reviews.

In summer 2017, Phil Collen was invited by internationally renowned guitarist, Joe Satriani, to take part in his G4 Experience. During the day, Collen taught master guitar classes while jamming in the evening with Satriani, Tommy Emmanuel, Paul Gilbert and Warren DeMartini for the G4 attendees.

In addition to his various collaborations in music, Collen recently partnered with Vancouver based shoe company, SixHundredFour, to design a line of custom hand-painted sneakers, 'Electric Splatter', echoing the PC1 '30th Anniversary' line of guitars he embellished for Jackson Guitars 30th anniversary in 2010. As with the custom guitars (which have now more than doubled in value - one recently appearing on the hit show, Pawn Stars) the limited sneakers sold out the entire run in hours of release.

Phil Collen has been a vegetarian for 35 years, vegan for 6 years and alcohol-free for 30 years. He continues to keep in top physical shape training with A&E Celebrity Sweat's Eric The Trainer. Collen has been featured in outlets ranging from Rolling Stone, PEOPLE, and New York Times to Guitar World, Inc., Iron Man and beyond.